The Georgia Department of Transportation State Transportation Board approved selection of the Apparent Best Value Proposer for the I-285/I-20 East Interchange project, one of the Major Mobility Investment Program projects. Georgia DOT used a best-value procurement method for the Design-Build-Finance project which evaluates both price and technical proposals.
 
The developer, East Interchange Builders, is a team of two of the largest transportation contractors in Georgia – Archer Western Construction, LLC (AWC) and E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc. (ERS) with Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering (ICE) as the lead designer. The Executive Summary of their proposal indicated the collective team has delivered over $1 billion in Georgia DOT projects employing over 2,000 local construction personnel and engineers, and has provided over $2 billion in private financing on ­public projects across the country.
 
“Every team gave an incredible effort throughout the lengthy and rigorous procurement process. We are proud of the outcome and of the bidding community who provided exceptional value to the Department and in advancing this critical project forward,” said Georgia DOT’s P3 Division Director Joe Carpenter, PE.
 
The I-285/I-20 East Interchange is ranked No. 21 of the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) 2022 list of “Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks.” This project will improve traffic flow and safety by constructing new ramps in the interchange, building new collector-distributor lanes, adding new auxiliary lanes, and constructing new bridges.
 
“This is an important milestone for the Department to reach. Selecting a team who will design, build, and finance this crucial project will enhance metro Atlanta mobility for our motorists and transit users,” said Georgia DOT Program Manager Matthew Fowler, PTP.
 
The project has been in development since 2018, beginning soon after the MMIP was announced. Robust stakeholder and public engagement has taken place including accepting official public comment on the project in 2019 and 2020. The developer team is anticipated to start construction in 2023.
 
Additional information about the project can be found at https://0013915-gdot.hub.arcgis.com/.